"Well, I don't suppose,
after all, it is any of our business, or ever will be. The poor thing
is now a captive and being borne away to the dungeon-keep. Whatever
that is," she added, shrugging her shoulders.

INTEREST IN RADIO SPREADS

CHAPTER III

INTEREST IN RADIO SPREADS

Over the George Washington sundaes at the New Melford Dainties Shop
the girls discussed the mysterious happening on Dogtown Lane until it
was, as Amy said, positively frayed.

"We do not know what it was all about, my dear, so why worry our
minds? We shall probably never see that girl again, or those two
women. Only, that lean one--well! I know I have seen her somewhere, or
somebody who looks like her."

"I don't see but you are just as bad as I am," Jessie Norwood said.
"But we did not come to town because of that puzzling thing."

"No-o. We came to get these perfectly gorgeous sundaes," declared Amy
Drew. "Your mother, Jess, is almost as nice as you are."

"We came in to get radio books and buy wire and stops and all that for
the aerials, anyway. Of course, I shall have to send for most of the
parts of the house set. There is no regular radio equipment dealer in
New Melford."

"Oh, yes! Wireless!" murmured Amy. "I had almost forgotten that."

They trotted across the street to the bookstore. Motors were coming up
from the station now, and from New York. They waved their hands to
several motoring acquaintances, and just outside Ye Craftsman's
Bookshop they ran into Nell Stanley, who they knew had no business at
all there on Main Street at this hour of the afternoon. Nell was the
minister's daughter, and there were a number of little motherless
Stanleys at the parsonage (Amy said "a whole raft of them") who
usually needed the older sister's attention, approaching supper time.

"Oh, I've a holiday," laughed Nell, who was big and strong and really
handsome, Jessie thought, her coloring was so fresh, her chestnut hair
so abundant, her gray eyes so brilliantly intelligent, and her teeth
so dazzling. "Aunt Freda is at the house and she and the Reverend told
me to go out and not to show myself back home for hours."

"Bully-good!" declared Amy. "You'll come home to dinner with me, and
we will spend the evening with Jess helping her build a radio thing so
we can do without buying the New Melford _Tribune_ to get the local
news."

"Oh, Jess, dear, _are_ you going to have a radio?" cried Nell. "It's
just wonderful. Reverend says